Button-cleaning shield.



No. 702,278.. Patented lune l0, I902.

S. H. BASGBM.

BUTTON CLEANING SHIELD.

(Applioaflon filed Jan. 25, 1902.

(No Model.)

1 W W W B Wu" [n We 721707 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SILAS I-I. BASCOM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BUTTON-CLEANING SHIELD.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 702,278, dated June 10, 1902.

Application filed January 25, 1902. Serial No. 91,165. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, SILAS H. BASCOM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-Cleaning Shields, of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to improvements in a shield to be used in cleaning or polishing metallic buttons; and it consists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement, and operation of the various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device for holding buttons and for shielding the cloth or other material to which they are secured from the powder used in the operation of cleaningor polishing which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, strong, durable, and eifective in operation, and which shall be so made that it may be easily placed between the button and the garment or other material to which the button is fastened and readily removed therefrom.

Another object is to so construct the device that it will form a receptacle for the polishing or cleaning powder, from which it may be emptied when the device is removed.

Still another object is to so construct and arrange the parts of the device that the button may be so held as to permit its edges or rim to be easily reached for polishing or cleaning.

Another object is to enable the members of the device to be folded together into a compact form.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be disclosed in the snbjoined description and explanation. I

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention pertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a face view of a shield embodying my invention, showing by dotted lines the position the parts will occupy when in use for cleaning a button. Fig. 2 is a side or edge View thereof. Fig. 3 is a face view showing the segmental pieces or wings of the device folded together. Fig. i is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a portion of the shield, showing it applied to the garment or cloth to which the button is attached and illustrating the manner of holding the latter. Fig. 5 is a face view illustrating a modification in the construction of the shield, and Fig. 6 is a similar view of another modified form thereof.

Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the difierent views of the drawings.

A represents a wire which is formed. witha coil a or bend about its middle to form a spring and two prongs or members A and A each preferably having at its free end a curved portion a, as is shown in the drawings. Between the free ends of the members A and A and the coil or spring a which unites them each of said pieces is provided with an outward bend b to receive the shank or stem fof the button F.

Secured to each of the membersA' and A by having its straight edge bent therearound is a semicircular or segmental piece or wing B, which is preferably made of sheet metal,

but may be of any suitable material, and has on its periphery an n pwardly-extendin g flange C to retain the powder used in cleaning or polishing the buttons or to prevent it falling from the shield or coming in contact with theclothor other material to which the buttons may be attached.

Instead of making the shield of two segmental pieces, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of,

the drawings, I may make it of other-shaped pieces in outline, as is apparent.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings I have shown a modified form of the shield, which consists in securing to one of the members of the spring-handle, and usually to the one indicated by the letter A, a shield-piece B, havinginits central portionan openingb,through which the buttons maybe passed. This piece maybe circularin shape, as shown, or of any other desired form and is preferably provided around its edge with a flange O as in the other construction and for the same purpose. The shield-piece B is preferably secured to the member A by having a portion of its edge at the opening 1) turned over a part of the member A, as at 6 (See Fig.5 of the drawings.)

Secured to the other member A of the springhandle is a disk E, which is provided with a slot 6 to receive the stem of the button when the shield is placed in position thereover and When the members of the handle are pressed together. The disk E 'is preferably secured to the member A by having a portion of its outer edge bent therearound, as at b (See Fig. 5 of the drawings.)

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated still another modification, which is of the same construc tion as that illustrated in Fig. 5 and just above described, except that the disk E is elongated or provided with extensions 6 to overlap the piece B when the members of the springhandle are pressed together, as is clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

While I have shown the shield-pieces in the drawings as being circular or semicircular in outline and as provided with a flange at their outer edges, yet I do not desire to be limited to the shape of the pieces forming the shield, as I may employ pieces of any desired shape and may use them with or without the upturned tlange at their edges without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In using the shield of the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, it will be understood that the members A and A of the spring-handle are normally held apart, as shown by continuous lines in Fig. 1, and that they may be placed between the button F and the cloth 9 or other material, to which it is secured, so that the bends or depressions Z) in the adjacent edges of the segmental wings or pieces will receive the stem of the button, when the members A and A of the handle may be pressed together, thus closely uniting the wings B or shield-pieces, so as to securely hold the button F and protect the garment from the powder or other material employed for cleaning or polishing the button. In the operation of cleaning or polishing the button the powder or other material used therefor will be prevented from falling off the edges of the shield-pieces by means of the upturned flanges O, as is apparent, when by removing the shield from the button F the powder may be emptied.

The segmental pieces or wings B being secured to the members A and A by having their straight edges bent therearound, as at c, as before stated, may be easily folded together, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, or may be turned on said members, so as to be at an angle to each other, as shown in Fig. of the drawings, thus holding the button so that its rim or edge may be reached for cleaning or polishing.

When the constructions shown in Figs. 5 and 6 are employed, the buttons are passed through the opening I) in the shield-piece B, when by pressing the members A and A together the slot 6 in the disk will fit around the stem of the button, and thus shield or protect the cloth, as is evident.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-' 1. A button-cleaning shield, comprising a wire bent at about its middle to form a spring and two members, and shield-pieces secured to each of said members, said pieces being formed with recesses in their adjacent edges to receive the stem of the button when the members are pressed together, substantially as described.

2. A button-cleaning shield, comprising a wire bent at about its middle to form a spring and two members, and shield-pieces rotatably secured on each of said members and having in their adjacent edges recesses to receive the stem of the button, substantially as described.

3. A button-cleaning shield, comprising a wire bent at about its middle to form a spring and two members, and shield-pieces rotatably secured on each of said members and having in their adjacent edges recesses to receive theIstem of the button, and an upturned flange .at its outer edge, substantially as described.

SILAS H. BASCOM. Witnesses:

CHAS. O. TILLMAN, A. GUSTAFSON. 

